Inside Kirstie Alley's feud with Leah Remini, her history with the Church of Scientology and her awa

May 2024 · 5 minute read

THE late Kirstie Alley and Leah Remini's alleged feud dates back almost a decade after they got into a rift over the Church of Scientology.

The two actresses were part of the church, before Remini, 52, left Scientology in 2013.

At the time, Remini told Ellen DeGeneres that her family has "lost friends" because of their choice to leave the religion.

Alley, 71, was perhaps best known for her role as Rebecca Howe in Cheers from 1987 to 1993.

The Emmy Award-winning star, whose death was confirmed on Monday, was a long-time Scientologist.

She had previously bashed Remini for comments that she had made.

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“First of all, I just want to everyone to know I have hundreds of friends and people that I know that have come into Scientology and left Scientology,” Alley told Howard Stern.

“It is not true that you cannot [leave] … You’re not shunned, you’re not chased. All that stuff's bulls**t.”

She said that anyone who says "Scientology is evil" is her "enemy."

“When you are generalizing, and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group — there are tens of millions of Scientologists in the world — when you decide to blanket statement that 'Scientology is evil,' you are my enemy," Alley said.

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She added: "The truth is, I don't think I've seen Leah for seven or eight years, not for any reason other than I'm acting, and she's acting. I didn't care if she was in or out."

Two years later in November 2015, Remini talked to Stern saying that she "understood" Alley's comments.

“I know the policy. I understand that hiding behind, you know, religious bigotry is the route to go,” she said.

"I know why she thinks she’s angry with me, and I know, again, hiding behind that veil is something that is per policy. They see me as an enemy.”

Remini was asked what she would say to Alley if she saw her.

She replied: “If I did [see Kirstie], I wouldn’t say anything because I know she couldn’t talk to me. I’m shunned. She couldn’t talk to me.”

Alley then spoke out again, a month after Remini's remarks.

The star said there was nothing going on between the stars, but then proceeded to blame Remini for her actions.

“She left the religion, and she was very critical. That’s just sort of water under the bridge," Alley told Stern.

'A VERY BIG PROBLEM'

"There’s nothing going on, and there was nothing going on for years.

"I didn’t shun her, but if a lot of people are rejecting you, at some point you gotta ask, ‘What am I doing?’ I mean, that’s what I would have asked myself," she said.

In December 2020, a former Scientologist, Tony Ortega, told Us Weekly about Alley and Remini's alleged feud.

“Kirstie tries to discredit Leah at every opportunity,” he claimed.

“Leah is a very big problem for the church and for Kirstie. She just isn’t going away. Kirstie has been given permission to attack [Leah’s claims].”

After almost a decade of public statements towards each other, the two stars remained at odds.

WAR OF WORDS

In February 2022, Alley and Remini fought over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Alley tweeted that she didn't know "what's real or what is fake in this war." She added: “So I won’t be commenting. I’ll pray instead.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Alley's Dancing With The Stars season 12 partner whom Alley reportedly stopped being friendly with years ago - made a statement to the star.

“Dear Kirstie, We haven’t spoken in a while, but I clearly remember being right next to you while you were organizing trucks of aid during Hurricane Sandy and I remember all that you were saying to me about situations where innocent [people] are suffering," he said.

He added to his Instagram Story post: "That same energy is needed right now. No one needs your prayer if you don’t know what’s real or fake.”

Remini also chimed in on social media, discussing the invasion.

The U.S. Sun reached out to the Church of Scientology, as well as Alley and Remini's reps, but a response wasn't received by the time of publication.

Aside from playing Howe in the hit NBC series, she also won an Emmy for playing Sally Goodson in David's Mother.

The late actress' credits also include Veronica's Closet, which ran from 1997-2000, 2005's Fat Actress, which she co-wrote and starred in, and Scream Queens.

In 2013, TV Land ran a single season of the show Kirstie, which centered around a woman who gave her son up for adoption at birth, only to be reunited with him after his parents passed away.

It was canceled after five months on the air.

Her film debut came in 1982 in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, where she played the Vulcan officer Lieutenant Saavik.

She is also credited for appearing in Drop Dead Gorgeous, Deconstructing Harry, and Look Who’s Talking.

She starred in Look Who’s Talking alongside John Travolta, and the film grossed nearly $300million.

She competed on the hit shows Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer.

Alley was also a spokesperson for Jenny Craig.

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